09/06/2026
What Matters to NorthStar Students? | Sunday Reflection
Labor Day has been part of our national calendar for more than 130 years, but its history goes back even further. The first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City in 1882 as a way to recognize American workers and the contributions they make to the strength and well-being of our country. Nebraska was among the states that recognized the holiday before it became a federal holiday in 1894.
With Labor Day coming tomorrow, I’ve been thinking about work and the different jobs that have shaped my own life. My first job was mowing lawns for my grandfather. From there, I moved on to scooping ice cream at Goodrich Dairy. In college, I worked as a loss prevention officer for a department store, which I can safely say was not the job for me.
I loved my time in the Army. I had the privilege of learning from some amazing leaders doing extraordinary things around the world. I formed deep friendships, had my perspective expanded, and was given the opportunity to lead and serve alongside my fellow soldiers.
I also earned a law degree, but over time I learned something important about myself: my greatest joy comes from service. That is what ultimately led me to nonprofit youth development. Like my military service, there is a mission bigger than myself, I get to be part of a dedicated team, and at the end of the day, I know the work matters.
Now I have what is the best job of all: helping the boys and young men of NorthStar begin to discover what might matter to them.
They don't need to have their careers figured out today. Our job is to help them see what is possible. Through academics, athletics, adventure, and the arts, they can discover new interests, develop skills, meet people whose careers they may never have considered, and begin to understand their own strengths.
Those experiences are an important part of a young person's leadership journey. Before you can decide where you want to go, you need opportunities to see what is out there and people who encourage you to imagine yourself there.
The more time I spend at NorthStar, and with our wider community, the more I realize this place brings together so much of what has mattered throughout my own career: service, leadership, teamwork, and helping young people find their dreams and begin to build them.
This Labor Day, may we all find purpose in our work and use it, in ways big and small, to make our community a better place.
Always Forward,
Wayne
